My DP Story

By Henry Walosik

When the German Army rolled into Poland in 1939, they had no mercy and rounded up people all over Poland and had them sent to Germany to work on farms to produce food for Hitler's army. The following story is one that describes the lives of two Poles whose destiny it was to meet under these circumstances and subsequently marry and have children.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Westwood Books Publishing
• Release date: May 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685365950

Henry Walosik

The author was born in a refugee camp situated in Sindenfingen, Germany on November 2, 1948. His parents were both prisoners of war and relocated to this camp as soon as the war was over. When he was one and a half years old, he left Germany with his mother and siblings and emigrated to Val-d'Or, Quebec, Canada where his father already established a home.He was educated in the English language but also possessed the knowledge of the French language. He married a Quebecoise at the age of nineteen, had three children all boys and celebrated his fiftieth year of marriage on December 30, 2017. His children are fully bilingual and college educated.The author spent most of his life working in the mining sector as an accountant. He retired at the age of fifty seven due to the appearance of a hereditary eye disease called "Cone and Rod Dystrophy". He lives in Val-d'Or, Quebec with his wife and travels as much as he can.

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Copyright © 2022 by Henry Walosik.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

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Contents

Dedication

Prologue

In the Beginning

My Father

My Mother

My Grandparents and Relatives

The War’s End

Emigration

The Early Years of Val-D’or

The Teenage Years

My Adult Years

The Grandchildren

Friend

Life at The Present

Conclusion

Epilogue

Dedication

Iwould like to dedicate this work to my mother, Jadwiga Blaszczyk—born on September 10, 1911 and died on February 2, 2009 at the age of ninety-seven and equally my father, Jan Walosik—born March 7, 1915 and died September 10, 2010 at the age of ninety five. May God bless them for the qualities they instilled on their children to be better human beings. May our memories of them guide us in the right direction.

   

What a coincidence, my dad died at one minute past twelve midnight on my mom’s birthday. Did my mother come to get him, only God knows, I would like to believe and do so. She was such a devoted Catholic that I think she spent more time on her knees praying than sitting down. I can’t say enough good things about my parents who devoted their lives to their children’s upbringing with tremendous love and tender care. They truly deserved the love and care we gave them to their departure beyond this world. Both my parents died at home surrounded by their children. It was heartbreaking to endure their last breaths warning us that they were leaving this earth to meet the Creator.

Some people do not believe that there is life after death but this is each and everyone’s prerogative. We are all raised according to our parents’ convictions and desire only that other denominations respect ours vis-a-vis theirs. This way the Community grows in a sane and respectful manner. One thing sure, no matter what our beliefs are, we will find out when we depart from this world.

Prologue

When the German Army rolled into Poland in 1939, they had no mercy and rounded up people all over Poland and had them sent to Germany to work on farms to produce food for Hitler’s army. The following story is one that describes the lives of two Poles whose destiny it was to meet under these circumstances and subsequently marry and have children. They just came out of a war during which they experienced hard forced labour and hunger. Fortunately, they came out of it alive whereas millions lost their lives. They, now, intended to put the pieces together and get on with their lives

   

The story is related by the youngest of three children and describes the family’s life as best as he could remember. There were three children in all, born in Germany, due to the war, but raised in Canada and today full-fledged and proud Canadians. The Walosik name has extended to the fourth generation and on the verge of attaining the fifth. For years and years, there were two families carrying this name in North America. One man was a Canadian, my father, and the other an American, Uncle Frank. Both of them did not go back to the homeland (Poland) after the Second World War because there was no opportunity there to build a good life. The country was just about destroyed and many hardships were on the horizon.

Therefore, they opted to search elsewhere to try and advance their lives as best they could in different lands of opportunity. They were making fresh starts with not much more than the clothing on their backs. All they had on their side was the will power and guts to take on this challenge with a definite determination to succeed. It was probably the decision of their lives but after weighing the pros and cons, they concluded that the adventure on which they were about to embark would lead them to a simple progressive life.

One thing the author is very proud of is the fact that his children and grandchildren are fluently bilingual giving them the freedom to express themselves in Canada’s two founding languages. They switch from one to the other at the flip of the tongue which gives them a great advantage over many unilinguals both socially and economically. They may travel anywhere in the world and not need an interpreter to communicate. Knowing more than one dialect can only open up the world to one’s self. There are many countries that teach their young students up to three different languages. This practise can only be to their advantage and every country in the world should adopt this type of education. Language should never be deterrent to use to destabilize the existence of innocent people. Human beings should be more considerate and allow harmony to install itself between them and not spite them because of their linguistic or religious origins.

The human race, according to the scriptures of the Bible, are all brothers and sisters, however; they have, in most cases, freedom of choice and of course some choose evil over good. This story will tell what I had to endure as a kid who was trying to integrate the local society. Mind you, I was not alone because, I am sure, there were hundreds of kids like me going through all kinds of hardships to be accepted. Fortunately, our parents kept their resolve and were determined to make themselves a home here, which they did. The only thing I hope came from this sordid practice is that the English and French children that practiced it lived with it, on their conscience, all their lives. Luckily, kids today are not raised to be bias and accept foreigners more easily and are eager to learn from them and not try to make them retrieve to their origins. Canada has become a Nation of expansion and is heavily multicultural with plenty of room and freedom for everyone. I am glad, today, to see that the past has not followed the future and the general public welcomes newcomers with open arms. All my previous sorrows as a kid have not been in vain and again good prevailed over evil.

In the Beginning

First of all, I would like to situate you as someone who has been informed about my beginnings. I have come a long way from childhood to my present sixty three years. My life commenced in Germany, after the second world war, where I was born and raised until the age of two and a half. I have resided in Canada ever since making me a full-fledged Canadian citizen and extremely proud of it. I intend to show what my parents went through and what they sacrificed to give me the opportunity to enjoy life to its fullest. The bond that they created with me during their lifetime remains inside of me even if they are gone. There is not one day that goes by that I don’t think of one or both of them. I know that they will always live in my heart until the day comes and I